The Internet is a network composed of many smaller private networks. Frequently, parties that are outside a particular private network would like to have access to information maintained securely within that particular private network. For example, content providers would often like to access information possessed by access providers. The information maintained by an access provider to which content providers may want access may include, for example, the current location of a mobile device user, the billing information of a user, demographic information about the user, etc. In general, this information is maintained secure within the access provider's private network.
There are two general approaches for making information maintained securely within a private network available to third parties that are authorized to use it. The first approach is to execute the third party's application within the private network. For example, an access provider could host, within access provider's own network, the applications of content providers (hereinafter referred to as “content provider applications”).
FIG. 1 shows a system in which a content provider application 103 is executed within the private network 100, which is a secure network containing information the access provider controls. Referring to FIG. 1, the user 101 requests information 104 from content provider application 103. To satisfy user 101's request, the content provider application 103 retrieves information 104 where the content provider application 103 and the information 104 reside inside the secure network 100. Then the content provider application 103 provides the requested information 104 to user 101.
The approach of hosting the content provider applications within the private network of the access provider does not scale well, since the more third party applications that the access provider executes within its network, the greater the likelihood that the applications will conflict with each other, or with other programs within the access provider's network. The overall reliability and integrity of the network is affected as a result.
The second approach is for the access provider to provide each content server with a mechanism, such as a program (hereinafter referred to as “access provider program”), an encryption key, or encryption password that enables each content server to access the appropriate information using often proprietary interfaces as well as traversing through the access provider's firewall. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system in which a user 201 requests content from a content provider, which the content provider application 203 is associated with. As a result of the user 201's request, the content provider application 203 accesses information 204 from network 200, which is a secure network containing information the access provider controls, using an access provider program 205. The content provider application 203 requests information 204 from the access provider program 205. The access provider program 205 retrieves the information 204 from inside the secure network 200. Then the access provider program 205 provides the retrieved information 204 to the content provider application 203. Then the content provider application 203 provides the information 204 to user 201.
The approach of providing access provider programs to content providers is undesirable due to the security threat raised by providing a tunnel through the firewall's security. Malicious parties could study how the access provider software is getting around the firewall, and create their own programs to do the same. There is also a problem with supporting and maintaining a piece of code distributed to potentially thousands of content providers. The proprietary interfaces to the private network's systems may change over time which would require updating and integration testing of the access provider software.
Another negative aspect of accessing information in a secure network associated with an access provider either with an access provider program or a content provider application is the time that is required for a content provider to prepare a legal contract (e.g., “commercial terms of agreement”) when offering a new service. As a part of this contractual agreement, the access provider needs to maintain and check a database of pre-configured entries for each content provider that the access provider is associated with.
Based on the foregoing, it is clearly desirable to provide techniques that allow authorized third parties to access confidential data maintained by within a private network, without threatening the security of the data, nor requiring the controller of that network to host third party applications.